Wizards Fans Like Chicken Better Than Basketball

If you are a Wizards fan you probably know all about NBA promotions throughout the league.  It is typically against Washington when a team will accomplish the statistic needed to give everyone in the arena a free "something".

A few Wizards @ Bulls games come to mind where, with the Bulls up 20 points, Joakim Noah would start launching three pointers as the crowd watched in a frenzy hoping he would sink one to take them over 100 points, a feat that would get them all a free taco or Big Mac.  (Looks like Noah is still doing this)

In the past the Wizards have had promotions like this, except less "free".  For years the deal was that if the Wizards scored over 100 points and won, the fans would get two for one beers at the District Chophouse (limited to a few choices).

Because nothing was technically free, and nobody goes to the Chophouse after games, nobody really cared about the promotion, and nobody got overly excited about the promotion.

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Pick your favorite:

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However, recently the Wizards have implemented a new promotion in association with Chick-Fil-A.  If an opposing player misses both free throws in the 4th quarter, everyone gets a free chicken sandwich (the next day or week with ticket stub)

This promotion has the fans going out of their minds.  In games where the Wizards are getting blown out, the fans will all of a sudden start screaming like maniacs on 4th quarter foul shots.  Cheering harder for a chicken sandwich than for a Wizards victory.

On Wednesday night at Verizon Center, the people losing their minds over a $3 sandwich phenomena came to life big time.

Watch the video to compare how the crowd sounded in the 4th quarter wich a missed free throw giving them a free sandwich vs with 8 seconds left and a missed free throw giving them a chance to tie.

Earl Barron Leads Wizards Comeback, But Wiz Fall Short

Steve Buckhantz Call Of The Game

Earl Barron and Martell Webster led a valiant Wizards comeback but the Cavaliers pulled away in the final few minutes to defeat the Wiz 94-84 to start off the NBA season.

11, 10, 9, 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 7, 4, 4

That was the box score for the Washington Wizards.  Only 2 players barely in double figures.  Jordan Crawford and Emeka Okafor who made a combined 8 field goals in the game.  The Wizards clearly have nobody who is the clear cut leader of the team, and until someone steps up or returns from injury, the Wiz are going to have to rely on a total team effort.

Most of the game the Cavs were in control.  However the Wiz managed to keep the score within around 11 points for most of the game.  In the 4th quarter, the Wizards made a huge run thanks a lot to Earl Barron who kept possessions alive and scored key baskets for the surging Wiz.  Barron finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds in 16 minutes on the floor. (DNP in first half)

Classic Wizards offense.  Terrible spacing. Two guys next to each
other calling for the ball.

The Cavaliers dominated the Wizards for most of the game, and Kyrie Irving couldn't be stopped.  He ended with a semi-quiet 29 points while John Wall watched from the sidelines.

The Wizards and their "tipping the ball" instead of "boxing out" strategy helped lead to a 23 rebound game by Anderson Varejo (21 in the first 3 quarters) which included 12 offensive boards!

The matchup that both teams were looking at closely was that between the 3rd pick in the draft, Bradley Beal, and the 4th pick Dion Waiters.  After 2 early three pointers, Beal turned into Harry Houdini and vanished from the game.  He finished with 8 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists, a very non-impressive NBA debut.

Meanwhile Dion Waiters played big.  He looked great playing 1-2 with Kyrie Irving and he hit some bit shots including a killer 3 pointer to take the lead in the 4th quarter.  Waiters finished with 17 points.

The Wizards have several days off before facing the Celtics on Saturday for the home opener...

Other Notes:  AJ Price was far from a good point guard.  He only had 1 turnover but he slowed down the offense and dribbled too much.  The Wizards were so poor throughout spurts of the game that Jan Vesely was looking like the best player on the squad.  (View all the Vesely GIFs here).

Musical Game Preview: Wizards @ Cavs

I Can't Stand The Rain...

On Tuesday night, the Washington Wizards open up their 2012-13 season in Cleveland against the Cavaliers.  Meanwhile, back in the DC area and all along the east coast, Hurricane Sandy has caused millions of people to lose power and be tortured by the rain.  Typically, hurricane or no hurricane, it is usually a good thing for Wizards fans to not have the ability to watch the game on television.  Will this season be the same?  Beep Beep...Who got the keys to the jeep?


Quiet Storm...

The Wizards opponents to start the season are the Cleveland Cavaliers.  In last season's shortened 66 game season, the Cavs finished with just 21 wins.  That did however happen to be more wins than the Washington Wizards.

But while the reigning rookie of the year Kyrie Irving is looking to improve in his second season in the NBA, the Wizards John Wall enters his third season coolin' on the trainers table for an indefinite amount of time.

The question is, has the rest of the Wizards roster improved enough to take out an equally bad team?  Or will injuries and non 100% players going to be a big problem for the Wiz?  We do know that Wall missing time is taking some of the anticipation out of the Wizards season...can they push forward with a quiet storm?


Rainy Dayz For Rookies?

The Cavs and Wizards both have equally questionable rosters.  Alonzo Gee is a starter in the NBA?  But one of the keys to the game will be rookies.  The Cavs are starting 4th pick rookie Dion Waiters at shooting guard, while the Wizards are going with 3rd pick rookie Bradley Beal.  This looks to be the most intriguing matchup of the game for both Wizards and Cavs fans alike.  Will the rookies shine, or will they just prove that more Rainy Dayz are ahead for both organizations...


Make It Rain

With Wall out, Seraphin out, Nene a game time decision, who on the Wizards will step up and combat the hurt from the injuries?  AJ Price and Martell Webster are the prime candidates.  Ariza will get the starting nod over Webster but Webster may see a majority of the time.  Both Web and Price had good games in the preseason and don't seem to be afraid to step up and take charge.

And there is always Jordan "Swag" Crawford who isn't afraid to fire up more shots than Drew Brees throws in a game.  Can he stop the rain or will he just make it rain jumpers?  You know Jan Vesely will make it rain airballs.  But will he airball more layups and dunks.  Singleton will make the stat sheet rain with 0's and 1's.


Change Just Like The Weather...

The Wizards have a slightly new looking roster this season.  Okafor, Ariza, Price, Webster, Pargo and Barron are all new to the team this season.  A lot was made (by the organization) about the ending to last season with a flurry of wins.  However, obviously it wasn't comforting enough to not make some wholesale changes to the surrounding payers.



And so the season begins tonight.  It may be really hard to get on the Wizards making the playoffs bus, and one game isn't going to define the whole season, but a win tonight against a pretty young team will be a good way to get started.

Artest & Ariza To Cleveland?

The latest reports out of Cleveland are that the Cavs are trying to sign free agents Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza. These two guys would go along with Shaq and Lebron, and would be a very dramatic change in roster for a team that just lost the Eastern Conference finals.

While they still could end up with neither guy, this is scary news in the East. Teams like the Pistons, Cavs, & Celtics are looking to improve via free agency. The Wizards on the other hand are still waiting around.

How can the team with the best player in the NBA afford to sign 2 big name free agents, while the Wizards (worst team in the NBA) can only afford someone for the veteran minimum. Gilbert Arenas & Brendan Haywood better play like Michael Jordan and Old Skool Shaq or else the Wizards are looking at #4 or #5 seed and an early exit from the playoffs once again.

• Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly make a play for Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza

Shaq Traded To The Cavs, Wizards Fans Look Forward To A Championship In 2018

Shaquille O'Neil is now on the Cavs.

What the F is up with NBA "trades".

Ben Wallace (stinks) Sasha Pavlovic (stinks) and a late draft pick (stinks) for Shaq?

According to Yahoo! this is the deal.

The Wizards lost 3 years in a row to the Cavs manning up on Zydrunas Ilgauskas, now they have to deal with Shaq?

There is a lot of talk about how Shaq causes a team, as Michael Lee puts it, to regress. I agree Shaq can hurt the chemistry of a team, especially being injured a lot, not playing big minutes, and being less dominant than the old young Shaq.

But the Cleveland Cavaliers are not a team. They are a man. And even Shaq can't cause a man to regress.

Waiting for the next big move...and could be waiting for a while...

Mike Brown In Trouble

Mike Brown, NBA Coach of the Year (BS), is in some trouble. According to Pro Basketball News, he may not be the coach of the Cavs next year.

This is bad news for the rest of the teams in the East. With a terrible coach, the Lebron James' made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Imagine what they could do with a real coach!

So who is going to be Lebron's interim coach before he plays for Mike D'Antoni in 2010? You're guess is as good as mine, but chances are close to 100% that they will be better than Brown.

Mike Brown had a great offense. Give the ball to Lebron at the top, and have him travel all the way to the next foul call. Wow, thats almost like Phil Jackson, except he has a real offense.

Besides running this ingenious NBA Live style offense, Brown would also whine, moan, complain, jump up and down in disgust, and flap his arms up and down. He did this whenever anyone went near his baby boy Lebron. Well don't worry Mike Brown, he is no longer going to be your baby.

Why Lebron Should Leave Cleveland ASAP

Cavaliers Food Frenzy
Buy a $35 ticket to a Tuesday game against the Bucks. Then add $10 to your order to get a $25 food voucher. That is $15 worth of free food! But wait. There is more. Also get a FREE T-Shirt!

Do you think Chicago had to give away free food to get people to come & watch Michael Jordan? People would pay the ticket price AND spend money on food because it was Michael Freakin' Jordan! Jordan even sold out Washington, and he was not even good anymore.

If they have to do this promotion WITH a superstar, imagine what they are going to do when he leaves.

Cavaliers Money Frenzy
We will give every fan $100 bills if they buy tickets!

Lebron is by far NOT Michael Jordan. Not even close. But he is a big name star in the NBA. It is even argued that he is the best player. (ha) You think if he played in New York, L.A., or Boston that there would ever be a free food night? No. The promotion would be:

Lebron James Frenzy
You pay face value for this ticket, and you get to see Lebron James. Thats It. Nothing Free Tonight. Just Lebron At Face Value.

SELLOUT!

November 17th, 1987 - November 3rd, 2000. Those are the dates of the Chicago Bulls 610 Game Home Sellout Streak. That included years with Michael Jordan & years without Jordan. This also includes years prior to the Bulls making the NBA Finals. (History Of The Chicago Bulls)

So what am I trying to say? Cleveland is no place for a star AND Lebron is no Jordan!